Some of my other favorite readers
-Simon Vance - he's done a ton of books.
-Oliver Wyman - (I'm not sure why Weber's Freehold series switched from him after the first two books, but I like him better than Jason Culp)
-Stefan Rudnicki

Of course, even the best of readers can't help a boring book. I generally look for books that I'm interested in and listen to the sample. If I'm in doubt, I look to see how many other books the reader has to their credit. Most of the good ones have credits into the hundreds.

There are a couple of authors who I think do a good job reading their own books - Simon Winchester, for example, but most do better with professional voice talent.

I love Neil Gaiman's books and I've heard he was really good with reading his own books but I just couldn't get into it. Neverwhere is in my top 5 but I was bored out of my mind listening to his sample on Audible.

The story follows life and cases of Chicago's only wizard for hire, Harry Dresden. Dresden works as a P.I. and a consultant for Chicago PD. He introduces you to the world of magic he lives in, a world with vampires, werewolf, ghosts and other creatures we ignore so we can sleep at night.

There are 12 books with the 13th coming out this summer. All books are made into audiobook and narrated by James Marsters. Marsters is a professional actor and he doesn't just read the books -- he acts them. If a character is running up the stairs, you will hear it in Marsters' breathing, when a new character says something, you will hear the voice change. He's brilliant.

An interesting story to read was made much, much better in the audiobook version.

Note: I have a 40-75 minute commute each way and the only way I avoid road-rage is distracting myself with Audiobooks.

Scott Brick does a lot of the Preston and Child novels and I now associate his voice with these authors. These are so good I almost regret arriving home and not being able to continue the stories.

The Jasper Fford books (Ayre Affair and Lost in a Good Book) have a delightfully British female reader that adds to the flavor of the books.

The Janet Evanovitch "Plum" novels have had 2 readers (CJ Critt and ... someone else) and both add enthusiasm and personality to the characters. Damb-Skippy!

I just started a new Carl Hiaasan and after hearing many of his books in my car have found them to be very road-worthy. Interesting characters, snarky humor but not so deep that you cannot pick up the plot after a long weekend. Great choices for audio.

Avoid the Rizzoli and Isles books on audiobook. I just finished "The Apprentice" and the reader (who sounds like Jane Lynch but is not) pronounces Rizzoli as "Ritz-Ole" and does not do a Boston accent very well/at all. The first book ("The Surgeon") had a better reader.

I did not like a Louis McMaster Bujold books on Audiobook. This is hard to write as she is a favorite author - but for some reason her stories are hard to follow on audio. I think the characters/story are so involved it does not work too well. (or perhaps I did not like the reader - it's been a few years). Buy "Cryoburn" and get the CD with all her other novels in electronic format.

I agree that Tina Fey reading her novel "Bossy Pants" is outstanding. You should also try Lisa Sccotoline reading her own book "Why my third husband will be a dog". It's a collection of newspaper articles she wrote for her own town newspaper put into a book. Her voice contains humor, sadness, confusion in all the correct places.

Last edited by FatDog; 06-03-2011 at 06:17 PM.
Reason: Wanted to add more.

7-Up was actually done by two different narrators, Tanya Eby and Lorelei King. Lorelei King was amazingly stupendously fabulous compared to Tanya Eby. Oh so horrible!! I think her version of grandma was the worst. She sounded like a tottering feeble little old lady instead of a feisty one. Ugh! If you can ever find a sample of it, try it out, just to see how truly horrible it is!
S

If you like mysteries with a little humor thrown in, you should like the Sue Grafton alphabet series. I have listened to all of these and am now on my second listen. There were 2 different narrators, Mary Peiffer and Judy Kaye. They were both good but Mary Peiffer just really captured what I imagined to be the personality of the main character. The second one sounded like she was about 30 years older and seemed too old but I did get used to her.

A good male narrator is James Daniels, with a very smooth, melodious voice.
I recommend this book that he narrates by T. Jefferson Parker, Silent Joe:

Quote:

Publisher's Summary

With the horrible remnants of a childhood tragedy forever visible across his otherwise handsome face, Joe Trona is scarred in more ways than one. Rescued from an orphanage by Will Trona, a charismatic Orange County politician who sensed his dark potential, Joe is swept into the maelstrom of power and intimidation that surrounds his adoptive father's illustrious career. Serving as Will's right hand man, Joe is trained to protect and defend his father's territory - but he can't save the powerful man from his enemies. Will Trona is murdered, and Joe will stop at nothing to find out who did it.
Looking for clues as he sifts through the remains of his father's life - his girlfriends, acquaintances, deals, and enemies - Joe comes to realize how many secrets Will Trona possessed, and how many people he had the power to harm. But two leads keep rising to the surface: a little girl who was kidnapped by her mentally disturbed brother, and two rival gangs who seem to have joined forces. As Joe deepens his investigation - and as he is forced to confront painful events of his troubled childhood - these two seemingly disconnected threads will intersect. Just how and why form the crux of this intricate, intelligent mystery that satisfies the mind as well as the heart - and reveals yet again the impeccable detail, vivid characterization, and emotional complexity that make a T. Jefferson Parker novel impossible to resist.